Portable electronic device with proximity-based content synchronization

ABSTRACT

Systems are provided that support millimeter-wave wireless communications between hosts and electronic devices. A host may be formed using a personal computer associated with a user or computing equipment associated with a public establishment. Content can be automatically synchronized between the host and the user&#39;s electronic device over a millimeter-wave wireless communications link in a communications band such as a 60 GHz wireless communications band. Synchronization operations may be performed based on user content preferences. Content preference information may be gathered explicitly from a user using on-screen options or may be gathered by monitoring user media playback activities and media rating activities. The content preference information may be transmitted automatically from an electronic device to a host when the electronic device is brought within range of the host. Synchronization operations may be performed automatically when a user is in proximity of a point-of-sale terminal or ticketing equipment.

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationNo. 61/151,125, filed Feb. 9, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to electronic devices and, more particularly, toelectronic devices with wireless communications capabilities such ashigh-frequency short-range wireless communications capabilities.

Electronic devices such as computers and cellular telephones often usewireless communications circuitry. For example, portable computers andcertain handheld devices sometimes have wireless communicationscircuitry that supports local area network links. Cellular telephonesand other devices are capable of handling remote communications withcellular telephone base stations.

In a typical scenario, long-range wireless links such as cellulartelephone links are used to handle voice communications. For example,Global System for Mobile (GSM) cellular telephone links can be used tohandle cellular telephone calls in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and1900 MHz bands. Non-voice data can also be conveyed over 2G and 3Gcellular telephone links. However, due to channel capacity constraints,the amount of information that can be transferred over a cellulartelephone link in a given amount of time is limited.

Wireless local area network links may be implemented using the popularIEEE 802.11 protocol (sometimes referred to as “Wi-Fi®”) in the 2.4 GHzand 5 GHz bands. These links generally offer higher throughput thanlinks that are based on long-range wireless communications such ascellular telephone communications. These wireless local area networklinks are not, however, able to transfer large data files in shortperiods of time. As a result, proposed schemes to exploit wirelessservice advertising and automatic discovery protocols using WiFi linksare generally not able to effectively handle large data files.

As a result of the bandwidth constraints of conventional short-range andlong-range wireless data links, systems designers are often forced torely upon wired links. For example, the designers of portable musicplayers typically require users to download music and video files overhardwired links. In a common scenario, a user of a music playermaintains a music service account on a personal computer. When the useris interested in synchronizing the music player to the personal computeraccount, the user can connect the music player to the personal computerusing a universal serial bus (USB) cable. Once the presence of thehardwired connection between the music player and the personal computeris detected by the music service software running on the personalcomputer, a data link between the music service application and themusic player can be established and downloaded content from the musicservice account can be transferred to the music player.

This type of approach can be satisfactory, but requires a fair amount ofuser attention. If a user forgets to connect the music player to the USBcable or if the user is simply too busy to hook up the music player, thedesired downloaded content will not be transferred.

It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide ways in which toimprove the abilities of a user of a music player or other electronicdevice with wireless capabilities to wirelessly interact with externalcomputing equipment.

SUMMARY

Systems are provided that support millimeter-wave wirelesscommunications between hosts and electronic devices. The millimeter-wavecommunications systems may use radio-frequency signals in amillimeter-wave communications band such as the 60 GHz wirelesscommunications band. High-speed transfer operations may be performedautomatically whenever an electronic device is brought within a meter orother suitable distance from a host.

In a typical scenario, a host may transmit beacons or may otherwisewirelessly advertise its presence. When an electronic device is in thevicinity of the host, the host and the electronic device mayautomatically establish a millimeter-wave wireless communications link.The host may then automatically transfer content to the electronicdevice over the millimeter-wave wireless communications link.

Host services may be provided using a personal computer associated witha user. In this type of arrangement, the user's electronic device mayreceive content such as downloaded media files in a wirelesssynchronization operation whenever the electronic device is within rangeof the personal computer.

The host may also be provided in the form of computing equipmentassociated with a store or ticketing operation. In these scenarios, auser may be in the vicinity of the host for a particular amount of timeto complete a purchase transaction.

During the transaction with the store or ticketing establishment,content may be automatically synchronized to the user's electronicdevice over the millimeter-wave wireless communications link. The syncedcontent may be associated with a store purchase or ticketed service.Transfer speeds may be enhanced using beam steering equipment. Forexample, a steerable antenna array in the host may be used intransmitting wireless content.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device inwhich an antenna may be implemented in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating asystem of the type shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in using a systemof the type shown in FIG. 1 to synchronize content between a host suchas a user's personal computer and an electronic device over a millimeterwave wireless link in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in using a systemof the type shown in FIG. 1 to synchronize content between a host suchas a point-of-sale terminal in a store and an electronic device over amillimeter wave wireless link in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in using a systemof the type shown in FIG. 1 to synchronize content between a host suchas ticketing counter equipment and an electronic device over amillimeter wave wireless link in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to wireless communications involvingsystems that contain electronic devices. The electronic devices may usewireless communications circuitry that contains short-range andlong-range wireless transceivers and corresponding antenna structures.For example, an electronic device antenna may be used to handlecommunications for a short-range link such as an IEEE 802.11 link(sometimes referred to as WiFi®) or a Bluetooth® link. An electronicdevice antenna may also handle communications for long-range links suchas cellular telephone voice and data links. To facilitate the rapidtransfer of wireless data, the wireless circuitry in the electronicdevices may use high-frequency links. For example, some or all of thewireless circuitry in an electronic device may be used to supportradio-frequency communications using 60 GHz links (sometimes referred toherein as “millimeter wave links” or extremely high frequency links).

Radio-frequency communications in some millimeter wave bands may besubject to minimal government regulation. For example, in the UnitedSates and other major regulatory domains, there may be about 7 GHz ofcontinuous millimeter wave spectrum available at 60 GHz. Bands such asthese are sometimes referred to as being “unlicensed.” Because there arefew regulatory requirements when operating in this range, there are fewbarriers to rapid commercial deployment of services.

Because of the presence of oxygen molecule resonances, wirelesscommunications at 60 GHz are subject to non-negligible atmosphericattenuation when used in long-range outdoor links. This limits theeffective range of most 60 GHz links to short distances (e.g., less than10-15 meters or less). In indoor applications, effects such as freespace path loss and scattering due to reflection tend to be moresignificant factors in determining link performance. Despite theseconsiderations, communications using 60 GHz signals can be usedsatisfactorily in many situations, particularly over short distances.Signals at 60 GHz have short (millimeter) wavelengths, so compact(millimeter-scale) antennas can be used. This facilitates deviceminiaturization. Rapid data rates are also possible (e.g., gigabitrates).

Using beam steering and/or the short-range properties of millimeter wavecommunications, wireless communications schemes in millimeter bands suchas the 60 GHz band can be implemented that allow relatively highbandwidth communications links to be formed over short distances withoutinterference from neighboring devices. This allows an electronic deviceto interact with nearby equipment at high data rates. If desired,wireless communications may be made sufficiently fast that they can beused in place of conventional wired links such as conventional wireduniversal serial bus (USB).

Millimeter wave communications schemes such as these may be used invarious electronic devices and may be used to communicate with a varietyof external electronic equipment.

Examples of electronic devices that may include millimeter-wave wirelesscommunications circuits include devices such as a desktop personalcomputer, a miniature or wearable device, a portable computer or otherportable device, a mobile telephone, a music player, a remote control, aglobal positioning system device, devices that combine the functions ofone or more of these devices and other suitable devices, or any otherelectronic device.

Examples of external host equipment that may interact with an electronicdevice using millimeter-wave wireless communications include computingequipment installations at a user's home (e.g., a local area network ina house based on one or more personal computers, routers, and othernetworking equipment), computing equipment in public locations (e.g.,computing equipment in a kiosk or point of sale terminal), computingequipment associated with a public or business network (e.g., computingequipment associated with a ticketing counter at a transportationcompany or computing equipment associated with other companies), etc.

A diagram of an illustrative system 8 including an electronic device andexternal computing equipment that may communicate over a millimeter-wavewireless communications link is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1,system 8 may include an electronic device such as electronic device 10.

Device 10 may include storage and processing circuitry 12 andinput-output circuitry 14. Storage and processing circuitry 12 mayinclude hard disk drives, solid state drives, optical drives,random-access memory, nonvolatile memory and other suitable storage.Storage may be implemented using separate integrated circuits and/orusing memory blocks that are provided as part of processors or otherintegrated circuits.

Storage and processing circuitry 12 may include processing circuitrythat is used to control the operation of device 10. The processingcircuitry may be based on one or more circuits such as a microprocessor,a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, an application-specificintegrated circuit, and other suitable integrated circuits. Storage andprocessing circuitry 12 may be used to run software on device 10 such asoperating system software, code for applications, or other suitablesoftware. To support wireless operations, storage and processingcircuitry 12 may include software for implementing wirelesscommunications protocols such as wireless local area network protocols(e.g., IEEE 802 protocols such as IEEE 802.15.3 protocols for high-ratepersonal area networks and the IEEE P802.11ad proposed protocols forvery high throughput 60 GHz links), protocols for other short-rangewireless communications links such as the Bluetooth® protocol, protocolsfor handling 3 G communications services (e.g., using wide band codedivision multiple access techniques), 2G cellular telephonecommunications protocols, WiMAX® communications protocols,communications protocols for other bands, etc. These protocols mayinclude protocols such as multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)protocols that employ multiple antennas to increase data throughput,wireless range, and link reliability.

Input-output devices 14 may be used to allow data to be supplied todevice 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to externaldevices. Input-output devices 14 may include user input-output devicessuch as buttons, display screens, touch screens, joysticks, clickwheels, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones,speakers, cameras, etc. A user can control the operation of device 10 bysupplying commands through the user input devices. This may allow theuser to adjust device settings, etc. Input-output devices 14 may alsoinclude data ports, circuitry for interfacing with audio and videosignal connectors, and other input-output circuitry.

As shown in FIG. 1, input-output devices 14 may include wirelesscommunications circuitry 16. Wireless communications circuitry 16 mayinclude communications circuitry such as radio-frequency (RF)transceiver circuitry 18 formed from one or more integrated circuitssuch as a baseband processor integrated circuit and otherradio-frequency transmitter and receiver circuits. Radio-frequencytransceiver circuitry 18 may include circuitry for handlingmillimeter-wave radio-frequency transmission and reception operationssuch as 60 GHz radio-frequency transceiver circuit 24. Circuitry 16 mayalso include power amplifier circuitry, transmission lines such astransmission line(s) 20, passive RF components, antennas 22, and othercircuitry for handling RF wireless signals.

Electronic device 10 may include one or more antennas such as antenna22. The antenna structures in device 10 may be used to handle anysuitable communications bands of interest. For example, antennas andwireless communications circuitry in device 10 may be used to handlecellular telephone communications in one or more frequency bands anddata communications in one or more communications bands. Typical datacommunications bands that may be handled by wireless communicationscircuitry 16 include the 2.4 GHz band that is sometimes used for Wi-Fi®(IEEE 802.11) and Bluetooth® communications, the 5 GHz band that issometimes used for Wi-Fi® communications, the 1575 MHz GlobalPositioning System band, and 2G and 3G cellular telephone bands.Millimeter-wave communications can be handled using one or more antennastructures that are designed to operate at millimeter-wave frequencies.These millimeter-wave frequencies may correspond to radio-frequencycommunications in a communications band at 60 GHz (e.g., 57-64 GHz inthe United States or 59-66 GHz in Europe and Japan).

Millimeter-wave bands and other bands may be covered using single-bandand multiband antennas. For example, cellular telephone communicationscan be handled using a multiband cellular telephone antenna. A singleband antenna may be provided to handle millimeter-wave communications.Another single band antenna may be provided to handle Bluetooth®communications. Device 10 may, as an example, include a multibandantenna that handles local area network data communications at 2.4 GHzand 5 GHz (e.g., for IEEE 802.11 communications), a single band antennathat handles 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 communications and/or 2.4 GHzBluetooth® communications, a multiband cellular telephone antenna, and asingle band antenna that handles millimeter-wave communications (e.g.,at 60 GHz). Single band and multiband antennas that handle othercommunications frequencies of interest may also be used. These aremerely examples. Any suitable antenna structures may be used by device10 to cover communications bands of interest.

Portable wireless electronic device 10 may communicate with externalcomputing equipment (sometimes referred to as host 28) over wirelesscommunications links such as wireless communications link 26. As withdevice 10 of FIG. 1, host 28 may include storage and processingcircuitry and input-output circuitry (including antenna structures andradio-frequency transceiver circuitry such as the 60 GHz radio-frequencytransceiver circuit of FIG. 1).

Wireless communications link 26 may be, for example, a millimeter-wavecommunications link operating at 60 GHz. In this type of scenario, themaximum effective range of link 26 may be limited (e.g., to a maximumpractical distance D). The magnitude of D may depend on the capabilitiesof device 10 and host 28. In a typical scenario, distance D may be lessthan 20 meters, less than 15 meters, less than 10 meters, or may bewithin the range of 1-3 meters or less (as examples). Link 26 may bemost effective when device 10 has a clear “line-of-sight” path to host28, but may also operate under certain non-line-of-sight conditions.

As an example, link 26 may be blocked if host 28 (i.e., the antenna ofhost 28) is in a separate room or building from device 10 or if thereare significant obstructions such as walls or furniture blocking thepath between device 10 and host 28. In at least some arrangements,however, device 10 and host 28 may communicate wirelessly over link 26even if device 10 is hidden from view by less significant obstructions(e.g., when device 10 is within a pants pocket or other clothing worn bya user of device 10 or is in a bag). To support this type ofnon-line-of-sight channel, in which the free-space path between device10 and host 28 is at least partly obscured by an object (e.g.,clothing), device 10 and/or host 28 may use transceiver and antennastructures that support beam steering (e.g., using a controllable phasedarray of antennas or other suitable beam steering antenna arrangement).As shown in FIG. 1, for example, host 28 may include steerable antennaarray 29. Antenna array 29 may have, for example, 36 individual antennaelements.

In general, however, the sensitivity of host 28 and device 10 and thecorresponding maximum permissible operating range D for link 26 may beconfigured to be relatively larger or smaller by proper selection of thecomponents in system 8. Larger ranges (e.g., greater than 20 meters) maybe obtained by using more sensitive transceiver circuitry and largeroperating powers and by tolerating lower data rates and more errors.Smaller ranges (e.g., less than 20 meters) may be applicable whenoperating at gigabit data rates and higher data rates and when operatingat relatively lower transceiver powers.

In a typical scenario, device 10 may be a portable electronic devicesuch as a handheld electronic device. As an example, device 10 may be acellular telephone with music player functionality, a music player, ahandheld computer, or other handheld device (as examples). Host 28 maybe based on a computer such as a portable computer, a peer device (e.g.,another handheld device similar or identical in type to device 10), anetwork of computers, etc. The computing equipment of host 28 may beassociated with the user (home computing equipment), a home office orbusiness (office computing equipment), a public environment (publiccomputing equipment), or any other suitable entity.

A flow chart of operations involved in using device 10 in system 8 ofFIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. The diagram of FIG. 2 serves as a protocolstate machine diagram in the context of a usage scenario in which device10 receives content from host 28. Other usage scenarios and techniquesfor establishing millimeter-wave links are also possible. The scenarioof FIG. 2 is merely illustrative.

As illustrated by step 30, as a user carries device 10 to variouslocations, device 10 may listen for beacons from a host such as host 28of FIG. 1 that is within range of device 10 (e.g., closer than maximumoperating distance D). If desired, beacon arrangements can involve thetransmission of beacon signals from device 10 in addition to or insteadof transmitting beacon signals from host 28. Arrangements in which hostssuch as host 28 transmit beacon signals are sometimes described hereinas an example. Other mechanisms for making capability announcements maybe used if desired. For example, capabilities may be advertised usingthe Generic Advertisement Service defined by IEEE 802.11u.

Host 28 may use its internal storage and processing circuitry and itswireless communications circuitry to transmit radio-frequency beaconsignals in the 60 GHz communications band (as an example). Out-of-bandbeacons may also be transmitted.

When a beacon is received (step 32), device 10 can respond, therebynotifying host 28 of the presence of device 10 within distance D. Atthis stage, both host 28 and device 10 can conclude that device 10 iswithin range of host 28. Proximity-based services can then be delivered.

Different electronic devices and hosts may have different types ofcapabilities. Accordingly, it may be advantageous to permit “discovery”of the capabilities of host 28 by device 10 and vice versa. For example,at step 34, device 10 can determine whether host 30 is of the type thatpermits synchronization of music files and other content (as anexample). If not (e.g., because host 28 is a wireless computer monitoror other “dumb” device), processing may return to step 30, as indicatedby line 36.

If, however, a synchronization capability is present (e.g., host 28 is apublic host located in a store), processing may continue to step 38. Atstep 38, device 10 may determine whether the in-range host 28 permitsopen access (i.e., access without authentication). Some services maydesire to provide services to all in-range devices withoutauthentication. In this situation, processing may proceed directly tostep 42. Other services, however, may require that device 10authenticate to host 28 (step 40), before services are made available(step 42). If desired, authentication operations during step 40 may beperformed using an out-of-band channel.

During the operations of step 42, a bidirectional wirelesscommunications link such as link 26 of FIG. 1 may be established betweenhost 28 and device 10. In particular, device 10 may be joined to awireless network that includes host 28. Link 26 may, for example, be a60 GHz link. The operations of step 42 may be performed after MAC layer49 notifies an appropriate content syncing application on device 10(application layer 51) that wireless network association has occurred.The application can then establish communication with a peer applicationon host 28. With one suitable arrangement, the host application mayprovide service on a suitable TCP or UDP port. The device applicationmay use a service discovery protocol to locate the host application.With another suitable approach, the device application may use themulticast Domain Name System (mDNS) to locate host 28. Once host 28 hasbeen located and identified, device 10 may initiate a transport layersession over link 26 that links the device and host applications.

At step 44, host 28 may provide device 10 with information on thecontent available from host 28. For example, host 28 may provide device10 with a list of available songs or videos or may otherwise send device10 a description of the content that is available for sync. Thedescription may include all content available at host 28 or may beselective. With one suitable arrangement, the content source applicationrunning on host 28 may be a media management application such as theiTunes® program from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The mediamanagement application may be used to manage content on a user'selectronic device 10. With this type of arrangement, the mediamanagement application may only inform device 10 of new content that hasbecome available since the last sync.

At step 46, device 10 can determine whether any of the content that isbeing made available by host 28 matches the user's preferences. Thesepreferences may be supplied in real-time (e.g., the user may be promptedto make content preference selections by device 10 using an on-screenarrangement) or a user may interact with device 10 in advance to informdevice 10 of the user's preferences. User preference information may beprovided to device 10 explicitly (e.g., the user may click on a“favorite song genre” option) or may be determined by inference (e.g.,by monitoring which songs the user listens to most frequently as withthe Genius feature of the iTunes® program of Apple Inc., Cupertino,Calif.).

If there is no preference match at step 46, processing may proceed tostep 48. At step 48, device 10 may disassociate itself from the wirelessnetwork (i.e., device 10 may break the wireless communications link thatwas established by host 28). Device 10 may then return to step 30 tolisten for new incoming beacon signals.

If there is a preference match at step 46, processing may proceed tostep 50. At step 50, device 10 can send a wireless content request tohost 28 over link 26. The wireless content request may include, forexample, a request that particular media files be transferred to device10 from host 28 over link 26. The requested media files may be, forexample, the songs from the broadcast list of step 44 that weredetermined to match the user's preferences during the operations of step46.

At step 52, host 28 may transmit the songs, videos, or other media filesor digital content to the user at device 10 over link 26. Link 26 maysupport a relatively high data rate (e.g., hundreds of megabits persecond or gigabits per second or more), allowing the relevant content tobe delivered in a relatively short amount of time (e.g., less than aminute, less than 30 seconds, less than 10 seconds, or a few seconds orless, as examples).

During the operations of steps such as steps 44, 46, 50, and 52, device10 may decide which of the available content should be received fromhost 28 and/or host 28 may decide which of the available content shouldbe transmitted to device 10. For example, device 10 may request thetransmission of specific content from host 28. In particular, anapplication on electronic device 10 may determine which items, if any,to sync. The application may also decide which order should be used insyncing the items that are to be transmitted. The application on device10 may consider several factors in choosing content, such as price,genre, rights management status, and the probability that the sync willsuccessfully complete before the sync process will be interrupted bymoving device 10 out of range of host 28.

The application on device 10 may model the user's content preferencesusing explicit information provided by the user such as user-enteredpreferences for genres, performers, series, labels, studios, maturityratings, tracks, albums, and compilations. When the application onelectronic device 10 encounters a host that offers content consistentwith these predefined user preferences, content may be automaticallysynced to the extent possible by availability on the host and thecondition of link 26.

The application on electronic device 10 may also infer the user'scontent preferences without receiving explicit user preference entries.For example, the application on electronic device 10 may analyze thecontent that is already in the user's library (on device 10 and/or host28). This analysis may reveal, as an example, the frequency of playbackof different media items and any corresponding ratings information thatthe user has supplied to indicate likes or dislikes associated with theplayed back media. The application on electronic device 10 may thenconstructs a model of the user's preferences by training a classifier onthe existing content (i.e., user preferences can be produced frommodeling and other analysis operations based on user activity andratings). Content discovered on the host 28 can be compared to the userpreferences that have been produced by this type of preference analysis(step 46). By requesting only content that matches the user'spreferences, transmission times can be reduced.

During step 50, the application on electronic device 10 may provide adescription of desired content to host 28. This description may be sentin the form of a list enumerating requested items (e.g., by filename).If desired, a content request description may be more open-ended. Forexample, a content request may include information that characterizesthe user's content preferences (either those gathered explicitly orinferred). With this type of approach, the application on host 28 maysend items to device 10 that are consistent with the listed preferences.

If desired, device 10 may send digital rights management (DRM)information to host 28 as part of a content request. This DRMinformation may include account identification information for makingpurchases through the media management application (i.e., for makingpurchases in the iTunes® store in the iTunes® program of Apple Inc.).The application on host 28 may use DRM information that is supplied inthis way to protect content from unauthorized copying. The DRMinformation may also be used for billing purposes. If desired, DRMinformation may be used to enforce time limits on permitted contentusage. For example, a user may receive content at a point of saleterminal at an establishment such as a coffee house. The content mayhave associated DRM information specifying an allowed usage time period.After one or two hours or other suitable length of time, the user'sright to view the content will expire. As another example, a user mightreceive an airline entertainment program from a millimeter wave linkthat is associated with an airline ticket counter or kiosk. After anappropriate time period has passed or after a particular event hasoccurred (e.g., the user's flight has landed at its destination), theentertainment program will expire.

During the sync process of step 52, host 28 may modify or allowmodification to the content being synced. Host 28 may determine thatsome content cannot be completely transmitted to device 10 before thewireless link fails and can take appropriate action such as schedulingtransfer of this content with a low priority. Host 28 may useobservations of user mobility in determining how to schedule content forsyncing. If desired, host 28 may use knowledge of a transaction schedulein scheduling sync operations. For example, host 28 may use knowledge ofthe typical steps involved in a retail purchase transaction to determinehow to schedule content delivery. If host 28 determines that the user islikely to complete a retail transaction in a particular period of timeand therefore will likely move out of range of host 28 before a largeitem can finish syncing, host 28 may decide not to begin syncing thatitem. Rather, host 28 may substitute smaller content items or may modifythe desired large content item to allow faster transmission. As part ofthe sync process, the host application may transcode content. The hostapplication may, for example, transcode content items to reduce the sizeof these items for syncing.

Host 28 may also choose to allow some errors introduced duringtransmission over link 26 to remain uncorrected, as error correctionoperations (such as transmission retry events) may consume more timethan is available during a short sync operation. Host 28 may, forexample, configure MAC layer 49 to use unequal error protection (UEP)schemes for transmitted frames. UEP schemes allow certain types oferrors to be passed to a receiving application. For example, low-orderbits in pixel data for video items may be allowed to become corruptedwithout concern about significant distortion to the video image. The UEPpolicy that is used may permit errors in these bits without triggering aretransmission attempt.

After device 10 has received the appropriate content from host 28 overlink 26 at step 52, the received content may be validated at step 54. Asan example, the validation process may involve checking received mediafile filenames against a list of expected filenames. More extensivechecking operations may also be performed. For example, device 10 and/orhost 28 may check that appropriate digital rights management (DRM)credentials are present (e.g., that device 10 is authorized to receivethe synced content). If desired, device 10 can be configured to onlyaccept content from host 28 that has been signed by a trusted thirdparty (as an example). In this type of configuration, the third partywould be responsible for examining content for potential defects. Thesignature of the third party may serve to endorse the content on host 28as being safe.

If the media files have been improperly or incompletely loaded or arenot properly signed, replacement content can be requested and deliveredfrom host 28. Otherwise, processing can continue to step 48, wheredevice 10 and host 28 can break wireless link 26.

As the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 demonstrates, millimeter-wave wirelesssyncing operations may involve three layers of the protocol stack: thephysical layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and theapplication layer.

At the physical layer, system 8 may use millimeter waves (e.g.,radio-frequency signals at 60 GHz). System 8 preferably allows syncoperations to be performed in an unobtrusive manner. This may beaccomplished by leveraging the ability of wireless link 26 to functionin non-line-of-sight (NLOS) channels. When device 10 is placed in apocket or bag, there is no line-of-sight radio-frequency (RF) path thatdominates the link between transmitter and receiver. As a result, link26 may be impaired by high delay spread, frequency-selective fading, andother effects. This may impose constraints on the radio and antennasystem that is best to use for system 8, as not all millimeter-wavedesigns will perform equally well in such environments.

With one suitable arrangement, host 28 and device 10 may use wirelesscircuitry that implements orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing(OFDM) as a modulation technique to combat NLOS channel impairments.Because wireless circuitry for implementing OFDM techniques requiresmore circuit area and power than wireless circuitry for implementingsimpler techniques, a suitable alternate arrangement involves usingwireless circuitry in system 8 that implements single-carrier modulation(SCM) techniques. SCM techniques are more vulnerable tofrequency-selective distortion than OFDM techniques, so receiverequalization and transmitter predistortion techniques may be used in SCMtransceivers. Because SCM transceivers tend to dissipate less energythan OFDM designs that offer similar throughput, SCM systems can be usedsatisfactorily in small devices 10 such as phones and media players. Ifdesired, electronic device 10 may contain wireless circuitry thatimplements an asymmetric transceiver with a SCM transmit path and anOFDM receive path. This type of circuit may reduce circuit complexitycompared to an all-OFDM design.

Asymmetric designs such as these may provide the robustness of an OFDMsystem in the direction from the content source to the mobile device(where high performance is required or at least highly desired). Datatransfers in the reverse direction may involve primarily low-ratemanagement signaling operations and may use of forward error correctiontechniques. In one suitable configuration, a low-bandwidthsingle-carrier waveform can be replicated throughout the channel in theexpectation that at least one copy will escape frequency-selectivefading.

Millimeter-wave OFDM designs can support higher-order modulations thantheir SCM counterparts. (For example, 16-QAM or 64-QAM may be supportedinstead of BPSK.) As a result, the physical data rates achievable withOFDM implementations can be higher. Examples of higher data rates thatmay be provided include data rates of greater than 1 Gbps, greater than2 Gbps, greater than 3 Gbps, greater than 4 Gbps, greater than 5 Gbps,greater than 6 Gbps, greater than 7 Gbps, greater than 8 Gbps, etc. Evenwith protocol overhead added, the effective throughput of this type ofsystem may be greater than the data rate that is associated with typicalelectronic device storage media.

If desired, system 10 may use a “pulsed load” arrangement in which thecontent to be synced is sent from host 28 to device 10 in short bursts.The bursts may be sized to fit in fast buffer memory (storage 12) atelectronic device 10 and can therefore be transmitted at a relativelyhigh rate. Following each burst, while the electronic device transfersthe buffer contents to slower storage, the transceivers on both the hostand device sides of link 26 can enter low-power idle states. This typeof arrangement can help to reduce average electrical power consumptionand may be used to help meet thermal management constraints.

The data rates supported by millimeter-wave transceivers tend to behighest at close range. For in-pocket or in-bag channels, maximumperformance may only be available at transmitter-receiver separations ofabout one meter (as an example). This characteristic of link 26 does notimply, however, that link 26 will be unusable at greater distances(e.g., 10-20 meters). In a typical operating environment, link 26 maysupport lower data rates at separations of several meters or more(although most commonly this rate will drop significantly at distancesof more than about ten meters). If desired, automatic handoveroperations may be performed as link 26 degrades. As an example, link 26may automatically switch from using 60 GHz communications to using WiFi®communications at 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz (e.g., IEEE 802.11) as the rangefor using 60 GHz communications becomes too large. The handoverprocedure may be used in both directions (e.g., moving out of range andmoving back into range).

In a typical usage scenario, device 10 begins the process of wirelessnetwork association, service discovery, authentication, and other suchtasks while the user is approaching the content source. These operationsdo not require high throughput and can be conducted using a slower andmore robust modulation and coding scheme of the type appropriate foroperation over a greater distance. By the time the user brings device 10into the range of host 28, setup tasks may already have been completed.In this type of situation, the sync process can begin immediately at ahigh data rate.

To overcome the attenuating effects of a pocket or bag on RF signals, abeam steering antenna array may be used (e.g., as part of wirelesscommunications circuitry 16 in device 10 and/or the correspondingwireless communications circuitry of host 28). Such arrays can exhibitup to 30 dB of gain in millimeter-wave implementations (albeit typicallywith the use of physically large structures). To allow the size ofdevice 10 to be minimized, it may be desirable to use a potentiallycomplex steerable array in host 28, while using a less complex steerablearray or a non-steerable setup in device 10 (e.g., a passive antenna, adiversity antenna, or a relatively simple steerable array). The optionaluse of a steerable antenna array in host 28 is indicated by steerablearray 29 of FIG. 1. The optional use of a passive antenna, a diversityantenna, or a relatively simple steerable antenna array in device 10 isindicated by antennas 22 of FIG. 1. If desired, a sectored antenna maybe used in which each antenna sector can be selectively switched into orout of use. By controlling the active antenna sector, antenna gain maybe provided in a selectable direction.

Using a combination of passive and/or active antenna arrays such as asteerable array in host 28 and a less complex antenna in device 10, link26 may receive the benefit of the array gain for content transmissionwhile allowing device 10 to remain small. If desired, both host 28 anddevice 10 may implement a closed-loop beam steering protocol toperiodically retrain the array or arrays that are in use.

Wireless syncing operations in system 8 also involve activities at themedium access control layer. Wireless networks may be controlled by adevice known as the wireless network controller or “controller”. Thecontroller bears responsibility for scheduling access to the medium, andas such, can incur higher energy costs during operation. To allow device10 to conserve energy, it may be desirable for host 28 to assume therole of controller in system 8. With this type of arrangement, host 28may maintain the wireless network even when there are no devices 10 inrange. The controller implemented on host 28 may allow any device 10 tojoin the wireless network. Alternatively, the controller implemented onhost 28 may restrict wireless network access to devices that properlyauthenticate to host 28 (i.e., host 28 may require authentication forsecurity purposes). When host 28 is associated with a public environment(e.g., host 28 is implemented at a retail point-of-sale terminal orticket counter equipment), the controller implemented on host 28 mayallow open access to any in-range electronic device 10. When host 28 isassociated with a more private environment such as a user's personalcomputer, host 28 may require authenticated access.

Any suitable authentication method may be used by host 28 to restrictaccess to hosted content. The authentication method may, for example,use a symmetric-key protocol such as that specified by the AdvancedEncryption Standard (AES), or may rely on other secure techniques. Onceauthenticated to host 28, host 28 and device 10 may use encryption(e.g., MAC-layer encryption) to protect communications over link 26 fromeavesdropping.

A given device 10 may detect many wireless networks as the user movesfrom location to location. In this type of environment, content deliverymay use an automatic proximity-based delivery mechanism (sometimesreferred to herein as opportunistic wireless syncing). While some of thedetected wireless networks may support opportunistic wireless syncing,others may not. Examples of wireless systems that may not supportopportunistic wireless syncing may include wireless displays, wirelessdocking equipment, and other such components.

It may be useful for electronic device 10 to be able to discerndifferences such as these between wireless networks without having tojoin each wireless network. This may be accomplished by requiring eachhost to broadcast its syncing capability to nearby devices 10 (e.g., inperiodically transmitted unencrypted beacon frames).

When host capabilities are broadcast in this way, electronic devices 10may attempt to join only those wireless networks in which the synccapability is indicated to be present. Sync capability announcements mayinclude any suitable information on the broadcasting host. For example,sync capability announcements (beacons) may include information aboutthe genres of content available, the size of the content, content costs,expected transfer times, rights management details, or other informationaffecting the decision by device 10 to accept the sync content. Whencontent descriptions such as these or other information on which mediafiles are available at host 28 is included as part of a beacon, contentlistings can be received at step 32 of FIG. 2 instead of at step 44 ofFIG. 2 (if desired).

Once device 10 establishes link 26 with host 28 and thereby joins thewireless network hosted by the host 28, device 10 may useapplication-layer communications to perform a sync. The high-levelprotocol state machine of FIG. 2 distinguishes between actionsassociated with MAC layer 49 and those associated with application layer51. Once the MAC layer notifies higher layers that a successful wirelessnetwork join has occurred, an application on device 10 may interact withan application on host 28. During this interaction, the respectiveapplications may exchange information about available content, maytransfer preferred content, and may validate the content.

Schemes such as the wireless content discovery and transfer scheme ofFIG. 2 may be used in a variety of contexts to exploit the millimeterwave capabilities of device 10. For example, millimeter-wave wirelesscapabilities may be used in private contexts such as when a user bringsdevice 10 into the proximity of a networked home computer, in businesscontexts such as when device 10 is brought within range of anoffice-based host, or in public contexts such as those where host 28 isassociated with ticketing counters and other establishments.

One of the advantages of millimeter-wave communications schemes such asschemes using the 60 GHz band is the potentially rapid data transferrates that may be achieved. There may be, for example, 7 GHz ofcontinuous spectrum available in each of the major regulatory domains at60 GHz, allowing gigabit per second data rates to be supported withoutrequiring the use of excessively complex radio designs. Because contentsyncing operations can be proximity-based, the user experience whenusing an electronic device that is capable of millimeter-wavecommunications may be enhanced.

Conventional content syncing schemes involve three physical actions.First, a mobile system must be removed from a pocket, bag, or case.Second, the system must be attached to an electromechanical interfacesuch as a dock that is connected to a computer. Third, depending on auser's software configuration, the user may be required to activelyinstruct the computer to begin the sync process. At this point, mediasuch as podcasts, television programs, and movies can be transferred tothe mobile system. Because the computer can autonomously acquire contentpublished on the Internet, it is possible that new content will betransferred every time syncing occurs. However, because modern audio andvideo files tend to be large, system bottlenecks can frustrate the userin conventional systems. A typical forty five minute television programencoded for playback on a music player such as the iPhone®cellular-telephone-based media player or the iPod® media player fromApple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. consumes about 500 MB of storagecapacity. Even assuming ideal conditions and no other network or I/Olimits, conventional music players such as these typically require atleast four minutes to transfer this amount of data usingcommonly-available IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®) links. Delays of this length canbe unacceptable in many circumstances, so conventionally such musicplayers generally restrict synchronization operations to configurationsin which faster wired connections are available.

With millimeter-wave systems such as system 8 of FIG. 1, link 26 may beconfigured to support high-speed wireless communications (e.g., onegigabit per second of usable throughput). In this type of environment, a500 MB television program or other media file can be transferred inabout four seconds. This makes wireless content syncing feasible anddesirable in a wide variety of situations.

For example, using an arrangement of the type described in connectionwith FIG. 2, content can be synchronized automatically. Whenever a userof device 10 remains motionless for a sufficiently long period of timein the proximity of a suitable host 28, content can be deliveredautomatically over a wireless link. For example, whenever a user ofdevice 10 stands still for 5-10 seconds within distance D of host 28,there may be an opportunity to deliver content over link 26. This mayhappen without active user involvement or when a user responds to anautomatic on-screen prompt (as examples).

Links such as link 26 may be established whenever a user stands near anappropriate content sourcing device (host 28). The content sourcingdevice may be the user's personal computer or computing equipment thatis located in a location in which the user performs everyday activities(e.g., shopping in a store, visiting the user's office, etc.). The usermay set up preferences in advance (e.g., to opt-in to receiving wirelesscontent), but advantageously need not necessarily take actions whendevice 10 comes within range D of host 28 (unless desired).

Consider, as an example, a home or office environment. In this type ofenvironment, a user may sit at a desk briefly before heading to anothervenue, such as a meeting or dinner. In the time that it would normallytake to scan an email inbox or consult a day planner, a full-length newsor entertainment program can be automatically transferred to the user'smobile device in system 8. Such opportunities may occur often, so it isnot, in general, critical that every transfer complete before the usermoves away from the desk. Moreover, it may be a sufficient goal totransfer at least some new content onto the device. It need not benecessary to ensure the successful complete transfer of any particularspecific content in this type of automatic synchronization arrangement.

If a user prefers that certain content be synced during such wirelesssyncing opportunities, several options are available. For example, theuser may provide device 10 with content preferences or other wirelesscontent transfer settings. Using these wireless settings, device 10 canprioritize classes of content in advance or can interact with host 28(and the user if desired) at sync time to ensure that the transfer hascompleted before the user has begun to walk out of range of host 28.

An example of flexible scheduling involves the situation in whichmultiple items are available for syncing. In this type of scenario,device 10 may prioritize using shortest-time-to-completion-firstscheduling techniques. Such techniques involve transferring small itemsbefore large ones, because smaller items generally are associated withlower risks of interruption during transfers.

Preferably, the user need not be required to interact with device 10 atany point during a sync operation. There will typically be severalopportunities over the course of a day for a 5-10 second transfer, sothere is generally no need to draw a user's attention to themillimeter-wave wireless syncing operations of device 10. With a typicalmillimeter-wave wireless syncing arrangement, all three of the physicalactions associated with conventional wired syncing operations areeliminated. In particular, because transfers are made wirelessly, device10 may remain in a user's pocket or bag. There is also no need for theuser to make a hardware connection with a dock or cable connector.Moreover, device 10 can respond to beacons automatically under automaticsoftware control. Because the software on device 10 can initiatetransfers automatically, the user need not interact with device 10during syncing (unless desired).

Illustrative operations involved in this type of usage scenario areshown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, a user may, at step 56, optionallyestablish content preferences for syncing in advance (i.e., beforedevice 10 is in range of host 28). These content preferences may beestablished by interacting directly with device 10 or may be establishedby interacting with a personal computer (e.g., host 28) and subsequentlytransferring the content preferences that were provided to the personalcomputer to device 10. As an example, a user may explicitly orimplicitly inform music player software on a host computer of the user'smusical tastes. These content preferences may then by synced to device10 using a wireless or wired connection. During the process of step 56,device 10 may present the user with on-screen options to which the usermay respond. For example, device 10 may display options on a touchscreen that the user can click on to choose which genres of music theuser prefers (as an example). Content preferences can also be inferredautomatically by device 10 based on the frequency with which the userlistens to particular songs, etc.

As indicated by arrow 58, a user who has device 10 in a pocket or bagmay, at some point after establishing the content preferences at step56, bring device 10 within distance D of host 28.

Using beacons of the type described in connection with FIG. 2 or othersuitable communications techniques, device 10 and host 28 canautomatically detect when device 10 is within range and can takeappropriate steps to establish a millimeter wave wireless link such aslink 26 of FIG. 1 (step 60).

Following establishment of link 26, device 10 can optionally ask theuser for additional content preference information. For example, device10 can issue an audio alert that the user can respond to by pressing onon-screen options. The alert may inform the user that a sync operationis about to automatically begin. The on-screen options may allow theuser to prioritize sync operations (e.g., by skipping video syncoperations in favor of music sync operations, etc.). The use ofon-screen options and other interactions with the user at step 62 toobtain additional syncing instructions is merely optional. The user may,if desired, be presented with no audible or visual indications thatsyncing is about to take place, thereby making the syncing operationless obtrusive.

At step 62, device 10 may perform syncing operations automatically overmillimeter-wave link 26. Only a relatively short time is necessary formost syncing when link 26 has a sufficiently high bandwidth (e.g.,gigabits per second or more). Nevertheless, if device 10 is moved out ofrange during the syncing process as indicated by line 66, device 10 andhost 28 may pause the syncing process temporarily (step 68). When device10 and host 28 again come within range of each other as indicated byline 70, syncing may be resumed (step 72) and processing may loop backto step 64, as indicated by line 74. During the sync operations of step64, content is transferred from host 28 (e.g., the user's home or officecomputer) to device 10. This content typically includes media files suchas song and video files, but may also include email contacts and othercontact information, photos, etc.

Another possible usage scenario involves a point-of-sale location. Thistype of scenario is illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown by line 76 of FIG.4, a user may shop in a store for items to purchase. Once the user hasfinished browsing in the store or when the user has decided to make anorder that requires the user's presence at the store's point-of-saleterminal, the user may approach the store's point-of-sale terminal(i.e., the cash register).

A user may, for example, reach the front of a queue at a retail store.Once at the front of the line, the user may stand in front of a cashierwhile making a purchase. While the usual steps in the transaction aretaking place such as placing an order or scanning a purchased item,locating money, and printing a receipt, device 10 will be located withindistance D of the cash register (i.e., its antenna array or otherantenna). The cash register in this type of arrangement may havewireless computing equipment that serves as host 28. Because device 10and host 28 (i.e., the computing equipment associated with the cashregister) are within range of each other, a wireless link such asmillimeter-wave link 26 of FIG. 1 may be established at step 78.

During the point-of-sale transaction, the cash register (or otherpoint-of-sale equipment) can automatically synchronize content to theuser's device 10, as indicated by step 80. The user need not consciouslyinteract with device 10 while the wireless transfer from thepoint-of-sale terminal equipment is taking place. Rather, device 10 canremain in a pocket or bag. This is because the typical transfer time forthe syncing operation will be less than that needed to complete thepurchase transaction (e.g., 30 seconds or less, 10 seconds or less,etc.). The user also need not interact with the cash register. Thesynchronization can be automatically triggered due to the presence ofthe user and device 10 near the register (i.e., so the device 10 iswithin distance D of host 28, as described in connection with FIG. 1).Large files (e.g., large video files or large collections of musicfiles) can be transferred during syncing.

In general, any suitable content may be transferred during a purchasetransaction of this type. For example, the cash register equipment canbe used to transfer promotional content to device 10.

As an example, consider a user making a purchase at a cafe. The cafe maydistribute a sample music album for customers to enjoy while in thestore. The music album may contain promotional messages, may be providedas a temporary trial version, or may be provided for free. In general,any content that is provided by the cafe may be free for the customer,so that the customer need not be alerted to the sync operation. The freecontent may, if desired, expire as with a rental model or temporarytrial. After a given number of in-store purchases have been made, thecustomer may become eligible to receive associated free wireless contentover link 26 (e.g., when making a subsequent purchase). The cashregister in the store can automatically keep track of the number oftimes that the user visits the store. After the store has been visitedon ten different days (as an example), a free song or other promotionalcontent may be automatically loaded onto the user's device over link 26,without any need to alert the user.

If desired, a cashier at the cash register can be notified during step80 that the customer has a device capable of accepting certain contentand can offer to add the cost of the content to the user's bill. Contentsyncing at step 80 can occur in parallel with a transaction that theuser is already performing (e.g., purchasing a product), so there willgenerally be little or no need to change to the normal flow of thetransaction.

If desired, the user may supply device 10 or the host with informationspecifying the user's preferences as to which types of content are to betransferred from the cash register. Preference information may besupplied in real time or may be supplied to the store or device inadvance.

Wirelessly transferred content can augment a user's main purchase. Thistype of scenario may arise in the context of purchasing a ticket at aticket counter. The ticket counter may have ticketing equipment such asa point-of-sale terminal that issues tickets. This point-of-saleterminal may have computing equipment that serves as host 28. Theticketing equipment may be associated with transportation services(e.g., bus tickets, train tickets, car tickets, plane tickets, boattickets, etc.), may be associated with tickets for cultural events(e.g., museum tickets, amusement park tickets, concert tickets, theatertickets, movie tickets, etc.), or may be associated with any othersuitable product or service.

Consider, as an example, a scenario in which a user is visiting anestablishment such as a museum that requires a ticket. When the user ispurchasing a ticket for the museum, a guided tour media file may beautomatically transferred to device 10. By automatically transferringthe guided tour to the mobile device during the admission transaction,it is not necessary for the user to make an affirmative decision toobtain the content.

Steps involved in operating device 10 and host 28 in this type ofscenario are shown in FIG. 5. At step 82, a user may travel to a ticketcounter to purchase a ticket. The ticket may be needed fortransportation, admission to a venue, or any other purpose. The user maycarry device 10 in a pocket or bag. As the user approaches the ticketcounter, device 10 is brought within range of host 28 (i.e., ticketingequipment at the counter), as indicated by line 82.

When device 10 and the ticketing equipment are within range of eachother (i.e., less than distance D of FIG. 1), device 10 and theticketing equipment may establish millimeter-wave communications link 26(step 84).

At step 86, while the user and device 10 are in the vicinity of theticketing counter (host 28), device 10 may wirelessly receive contentover link 26. Any suitable content may be synced with the device at step86. For example, content that is associated with the ticket and theservice associated with the ticket may be transferred. If, as anexample, the ticket is for a plane flight, the content may be a moviethat an airline is providing for free (or a fee) to the user for viewingduring the flight.

In a typical scenario, a user may approach a ticketing counter at anairport before boarding a flight. Over the course of several minutes,the user may present identification, confirm an itinerary, and checkbaggage. Steps such as these are typically involved both in situationsin which an airline attendant serves the user and in situations in whichthe user interacts directly with an “express” check-in terminal. Duringthe check in process, several feature-length films and supplementaryvideo programs can be transferred to device 10 (i.e., during step 86).By the time the user is ready to proceed to the airport's securitycheckpoint, a full entertainment package for the user's flight has beensynced onto the user's device and is ready to view. If desired, thecontent that is provided at step 86 (or the sync steps in other usagescenarios) may expire, as indicated by step 88. Content may expire if itis not viewed or otherwise accessed within a given time period or beforecertain events occur (e.g., before a flight ends or is scheduled to end,just after a flight is scheduled to end, before a user leaves a store,before a certain date is reached, etc.).

If desired, host 28 may be implemented using equipment associated with akiosk or equipment that has the attributes of a kiosk. For example, ifthe user of device 10 is checking in to an airline using a self-serviceterminal that is serving as host 28, the self-service terminal maydisplay a menu of available programming choices for in-flight movies.These programming choices might be presented as part of the sequence ofscreens in which the user is invited to change seat assignments, updatefrequent flier information, and perform other travel-related actions.These capabilities make it possible for the self-service terminal topersonalize the entertainment package that is provided to the customerat step 86 and make it possible for the user to access a larger contentlibrary than might be stored on each airplane. This type of approach mayalso help airline carriers reduce cost, because it is not necessary toequip each airline seat with a display when customers have their owndevices 10. Even in scenarios in which the self-service terminal orother ticketing counter equipment provides content selection options,the overall time required for the check-in process need only increasemarginally, if at all.

As these examples demonstrate, short-range, gigabit wirelesscommunications using millimeter-wave links can be used to “hide” contentsyncing operations inside the everyday activities users already perform.By reducing transfer times for video content to a relatively small timeperiod (e.g., 5-10 seconds or less), syncing can be made less obtrusiveand can be used to provide additional value to users. By syncingopportunistically rather than requiring the user to take physicalaction, a mobile electronic device can more frequently acquire new andup-to-date content.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. A method for using millimeter-wave wireless communications links tosynchronize content between a host and an electronic device associatedwith a user, comprising: with the electronic device, automaticallyestablishing a millimeter-wave wireless communications link with thehost when the user brings the electronic device into proximity of thehost; subsequent to automatically establishing the millimeter-wavewireless communications link, automatically forming a content request atthe electronic device, wherein the content request requests specificcontent from the host; with the electronic device, transmitting thecontent request directly to the host; and with the electronic device,automatically receiving the requested content over the millimeter-wavewireless communications link that has been transmitted by the host. 2.The method defined in claim 1 wherein automatically forming the contentrequest at the electronic device comprises: automatically forming thecontent request at the electronic device based on user contentpreferences.
 3. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising:obtaining information on the user content preferences by presentingon-screen options on the electronic device to which the user responds.4. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising: monitoring usermedia playback activities with the electronic device; and generating theuser content preferences based on the monitored user media playbackactivities.
 5. The method defined in claim 1 wherein automaticallyreceiving the requested content comprises automatically receivingcontent transmitted by a beam steering array in the host.
 6. The methoddefined in claim 1 wherein automatically establishing themillimeter-wave communications link comprises using the electronicdevice to receive beacon signals from the host.
 7. The method defined inclaim 6 further comprising: with the electronic device, evaluatingreceived beacon signals from the host to determine whether the host hassynchronization capabilities.
 8. The method defined in claim 1 furthercomprising: validating the received content at the electronic device. 9.The method defined in claim 8 wherein validating the received contentcomprises checking digital rights management credentials.
 10. The methoddefined in claim 1 further comprising authenticating to the host withthe electronic device when establishing the millimeter-wave wirelesscommunications link.
 11. The method defined in claim 1 whereinautomatically receiving the requested content comprises receiving songsfrom the host at the electronic device.
 12. The method defined in claim1 wherein the host comprises a personal computer associated with theuser and wherein automatically receiving the requested content comprisesreceiving songs from the personal computer at the electronic device. 13.The method defined in claim 1 wherein the host comprises a point-of-saleterminal associated with a store and wherein automatically receiving therequested content comprises receiving promotional content from thepoint-of-sale terminal at the electronic device.
 14. The method definedin claim 1 wherein the host comprises a point-of-sale terminalassociated with a store at which the user is making a purchase andwherein automatically receiving the requested content comprisesreceiving promotional content from the point-of-sale terminal at theelectronic device while the user is making the purchase at thepoint-of-sale terminal.
 15. The method defined in claim 1 wherein thehost comprises ticketing equipment that issues a ticket for the user andwherein automatically receiving the requested content comprisesreceiving content from the ticketing equipment at the electronic device.16. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the host comprises ticketingequipment that issues a ticket for the user and wherein automaticallyreceiving the requested content comprises receiving video from theticketing equipment over the millimeter-wave wireless communicationslink at the electronic device while the ticket is being issued for theuser.
 17. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the host comprisesticketing equipment that issues an airline ticket for the user andwherein automatically receiving the requested content comprisesreceiving at least one movie from the ticketing equipment over themillimeter-wave wireless communications link at the electronic devicewhile the airline ticket is being issued for the user at the ticketingequipment.
 18. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the millimeter-wavewireless communications link is associated with a 60 GHz communicationsband, the method further comprising detecting that the electronic deviceis within less than 1 meter of the host before establishing themillimeter-wave wireless communications link.
 19. A method fortransmitting content from a host to an electronic device over amillimeter-wave wireless communications link operating in a 60 GHzwireless communications band, comprising: at the host, transmitting awireless beacon to the electronic device; at the electronic device,receiving the wireless beacon and automatically establishing amillimeter-wave wireless communications link with the host; at the host,providing the electronic device with information on available contentfrom the host; at the electronic device, automatically forming a contentrequest based on the information on the available content andtransmitting the content request to the host; at the host, receiving thecontent request from the electronic device over the millimeter-wavewireless communications link; and in response to the received contentrequest, automatically transmitting associated media files from the hostto the electronic device over the millimeter-wave wirelesscommunications link in the 60 GHz wireless communications band.
 20. Themethod defined in claim 19 further comprising detecting that theelectronic device is within less than 10 meters of the host beforeestablishing the millimeter-wave wireless communications link, whereintransmitting the wireless beacons comprises transmitting beacons thatcontain information on which media files are available at the host forautomatic transfer to the electronic device over the millimeter-wavewireless communications link.
 21. A point-of-sale terminal thatwirelessly communicates with a portable electronic device, thepoint-of-sale terminal comprising: circuitry that stores content,wherein the circuitry is configured to transmit a beacon to theelectronic device using millimeter-wave wireless communications thatcontains information on the stored content available on thepoint-of-sale terminal and wherein the portable electronic device isconfigured to automatically determine whether to receive the storedcontent based on the beacon; and a steerable antenna array configured totransmit the stored content to the portable electronic device from thepoint-of-sale terminal using millimeter-wave wireless communications.22. The point-of-sale terminal defined in claim 21 wherein the circuitryis configured to transmit promotional information to the portableelectronic device during purchase transactions using the millimeter-wavewireless communications.
 23. A handheld electronic device thatcommunicates with a host, the handheld electronic device comprising:storage and processing circuitry; and wireless communications circuitrythat is coupled to the storage and processing circuitry; wherein thestorage and processing circuitry and the wireless communicationscircuitry are configured to automatically receive a description ofavailable digital content from a host over a millimeter-wave wirelesscommunications link when the handheld electronic device is brought intoproximity of the host and to automatically form and transmit a contentrequest to the host based on the description of the available digitalcontent; and wherein the storage and processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to transmit user content preference information to the hostover the millimeter-wave wireless communications link.